EXBS: TURKEY ADVISORS MONTHLY REPORT- (APRIL 2008)

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ANKARA 000908 SIPDIS DEPT FOR NP/ECC- YWONG, ACHURCH, BGOLDEN DEPT FOR EUR/ACE- DSILLIMAN, BHUNT, PMALIK DOE/NNSA- TPERRY, LPARKER, EDESCHLER CBP/INA- BWATTS, BPICKETT DOC FOR DCREED E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETTC KNNP KSTC MNUC PARM PREL TU SUBJECT: EXBS: TURKEY ADVISORS MONTHLY REPORT- (APRIL 2008) ¶1. Summary: The EXBS Team met with Turkish Customs officials and DHS/CBP Training specialist to review previously offered training and expand new training initiatives to include accession and OJT training programs. DHS/CBP training team completed Z-Backscatter Van (ZBV) training for Turkish Customs operators. EXBS Program met with various Turkish and EU Commission officials to discuss proposed restructuring of Turkey's border management system under the Ministry of the Interior. ¶2. Completed Actions for the Reporting Period ¶A. Meetings During Recent Reporting Period 1) EXBS Advisor held consultations in Washington from March 31 to April 1. While in DC, Advisor met with Brett Golden in DOS ISN/ECC, LaReinna Parker with DOE/INECP, Carson Kuo in ISN/NTOC, and Sharon Mark and Bobby Pickett at DHS/CBP. Topics included expected July/August implementation of EXBS Agreement by Turkey, the need to pursue further CIT engagement with Turkish UFT and Customs by moving ahead with DOE/NNSA engagement with WMD CIT development and delivery of XRF Density testers and associated training. Meeting with DHS focused on continuation of Accession and OJT curriculum development for Turkish Customs in August time frame by DHS/CBP training specialists (in Ankara) and additional DHS/CBP IBIT, IRIT training programs beginning in October. Kuo, Golden and Advisor discussed the possibility of moving ahead with a late fall briefing with Turkish officials by ISN/NTOC on coordination of U.S. Nonproliferation initiatives with Turkey. 2) April 8 - Met w/Undersecretariat of Customs, Enforcement Head of Department Ender Gurleyik. Reviewed final preparation for Z-Backscatter van training to begin April 10 at the Customs railway transit yard in Ankara. Gurleyik provided a list of border locations that each CT-30 kit, delivered to Customs in March, was assigned to, which include the land border gates of Gurbulak (Iran),Oncupinar (Syria), Cilvegozu (Syria),Yayladagi (Syria),Harur (Iran),and Sarp (Georgia),as well as the maritime port of Samsun (central Black Sea coast). As noted in last month's report, the eighth CT-30 Kit was assigned to the Customs Enforcement Smuggling unit in Ankara. During this meeting, Gurleyik also provided a list of required detection equipment, per our request, and recommended specific equipment locations for all border ports of entry in Turkey, to include: IONSCAN 400B units (14),SABRE 4000 Mobile Trace Seeker (34),and K910 Buster units (31). Advisor again discussed the need to travel to various border ports of entry to better understand how each port operates, but Gurleyik reconfirmed that MFA would need to provide approval for all border visits. MFA has indicated several times this will not occur until implementation of EXBS Agreement. 3) April 9 - Advisor met with DHS/CBP training team members Michael Chandarlis, Zulay Nunez and Renaldo Rivera to review Z-Backscatter van training goals and objectives and to provide them with a better understanding of Turkish Customs, Turkish cultural issues, and general security awareness issues for Ankara. Chandarlis (training specialist/team lead) from DHS/CBP HQ and Nunez/Rivera are Custom Enforcement Officers who operate the Z-Backscatter van at the port of Miami. 4) April 10 - EXBS Team attended the first day of Z-Backscatter van training and provided brief overview of EXBS program with Turkish Customs to the six students and port directors in attendance. 5) April 16 - EXBS Team and Michael Chandarlis (DHS/CBP Team Lead) met w/Undersecretariat of Customs, and Customs Enforcement Training and Custom export control officials. We reviewed previously delivered descriptions of DHS/CBP course offerings and discussed the need to progress with the training review of Turkish Customs accession and on-the-job training programs for Customs and Customs Enforcement officers. In addition to DHS/CBP courses on enforcement, the group noted that they would like to access U.S. expertise for ANKARA 00000908 002 OF 004 Turkish Customs Inspectors, specifically on intellectual property rights, and expressed an interest for more professional exchanges at large U.S. Border areas and "in the field" training as well. We discussed various professional exchange opportunities available through both CBP and ICE, and noted the pending Controlled Delivery course that is to be delivered by DHS/ICE later this year, possibly in October. Advisor inquired about the status of the new Commodity Identification Training (CIT) program that Turkish Customs and Turkish Atomic Energy Commission (TAEK) developed, with EXBS supported DOE collaboration. Ms. Aynur Ciray, a Customs Expert from Turkish Customs noted that the first course was very successful, to the point of creating more demand for investigations and reviews than the current system could support. Customs and TAEK are prepared to begin CIT training for 400 additional Customs officers, but are waiting for the revision of Turkish export control laws, which is being delivered to Parliament this summer, to ensure training contains new legal requirements and their limited licensing and CIT reach back capacity has been resolved under the new requirement for each ministry involved to establish a joint commission for export control licensing and regulatory review. 6) April 17 - EXBS Team officiated the completion of Z-Backscatter van course and presented certificates of completion. 7) April 22 - Advisor and Embassy Law Enforcement Work Group (LEWG) met with ISN/ATA assessment team and discussed their overall findings. Team members stated the Turkish National Police (TNP) training academy was looking to train some 40,000 new Border Management Specialists in the future to assume the role of Border Patrol officers between Ports of Entry, which the Turkish Gendarme currently performs. Advisor agreed with LEWG to investigate further to determine the restructuring of Turkish Border Management institutions were in fact being enacted within the Ministry of Interior. 8) April 23 - EXBS Advisor and coordinator attended a Border Control Workshop at the Partnership for Peace Training Academy in Ankara. This course was provided by Turkish General Staff (TGS),Coast Guard and Gendarme officers to approximately 18 regional Border Guard officials (Ukrainian, Albanian, and Turkish) and showcased how the Turkish General Staff, Coast Guard and Gendarme monitor and enforce Turkish border controls concerning terrorist, smuggling and other illicit activities at remote Turkish border locations. Two DHS/CBP Border Patrol Officers presented both U.S. Border management strategies for the U.S./Mexican border and the U.S. Border Patrol's Case Management system, which could be used as a model for Turkish and regional case management, to include incident mission planning and personnel/resource management during routine patrolling and illegal border incursions operations against terrorists, illegal immigrants, and/or smugglers. 9) April 24 - EXBS Team met with Integrated Border Management Project Implementation Project Director, Senol Arslan, at TNP headquarters. Aslan described the National Action Plan for implementation of Turkey's Integrated Border Management Strategy, to bring Turkish Border Management practices in line with EU requirements for civilian control, in anticipation of accession to the EU. He noted that this project began with the publication of the National Action Plan (NAP) in 2004, with the assistance of both Australian and EU officials. The NAP, which is to be jointly funded by Turkey (25%) and EU Commission (75%) will give the Ministry of Interior responsibility for the management of all border areas between each Port of Entry's (POE),which will continue to be managed by Customs and TNP. The NAP envisions that TNP will train approximately 34,000 new border officers, replacing the conscripted border force which Gendarme currently employs along its borders. An additional 20,000 new Coast Guard, Customs, and Police officials would also be recruited to support this new Border Management organization, which is envisioned to grow to approximately 54,000 personnel in 2014. Turkish military and Gendarme would continue to maintain border security within the southeastern section of Turkey's borders with Iraq and Iran, as long as they remain ANKARA 00000908 003 OF 004 militarized, to deal with the current PKK terrorist threat. When asked about the legal and political requirements to support this initiative, Arslan stated Parliament will need to pass new laws giving the Ministry the ability to establish this new force. While he stated there was political support for this new strategy, he noted there has been no legislation introduced for this initiative and no funds have been authorized by the Turkish Parliament. Advisor will provide a more detailed assessment of this proposed strategy Septel. 10) April 25 - EXBS Team met with EU Commission Senior Managers, Arslan Ergezer and Burce Ari, to discuss current and proposed Border Management projects that the EU Commission are currently supporting with GOT. They noted that the Rail X-Ray project for Van, previously discussed in February/March Advisor reports, has been approved for funding and they have moved forward with project reviews for seeking bids along with GOT. On the matter of the NAP, Ari stated the GOT, with EU and Australian support, completed a comprehensive assessment in 2002. The National Action Plan for Turkey's Border Management Strategy to civilianize all border management forces was published, with EU and IOM support, in 2004. This Plan has become the basis for a proposed multi-million Euro project. This project is still pending funding approval by the EU and, if approved, would take until 2014 or later to fully implement. Turkey has still not developed a legislative proposal consideration by Parliament to enact required legislation to authorize this new organization. ¶B. Training Conducted During this Reporting Period: - 1) Three GOT officials attended the March 31 - April 11 session of University of Georgia's Export Control Academy in Athens, Georgia, as noted in March's monthly cable. 2) A three person DHS/CBP training team completed a 6 day operational training program for six Custom Enforcement officials who have been tasked with operating this van throughout Turkey. The CBP team did an outstanding job at providing both familiarization and review of equipment safety precautions for each student. Both Nunez and Revira took an individual approach to teach each student safety issues associated with operation of this van and how to obtain the best resolution/image for detecting illicit cargo in various environments, to include inspecting vehicles ranging from automobiles, delivery vans, semi trucks, fuel tankers, rail cars, and Custom storage areas, including Esenboga airport. The CBP team exceeded host country's and advisor's expectations for this training and Post greatly appreciates the teams high level of professionalism and dedication to ensuring the success of this course in a challenging outdoor training environment. ¶C. Equipment Delivered During this Reporting Period: None this period. ¶D. Imminent Training or Equipment Status Update: Turkey will be sending a three person delegation (Two Customs officials and one UFT official) to the EXBS transshipment Conference to be held in Tangier, Morocco from May 20 - 22, 2008. ¶E. Significant Developments in Export Controls, Nonproliferation, or Related Border Security: MFA and UFT have indicated that the new proposed regulations for reforming licensing and reach back requirements has completed the interagency review process, including the Prime Ministry review, and is expected to be delivered to Parliament in May 2008. The proposed new regulations will streamline the three existing Export Control lists into one consolidated National Control list consistent with the EU Control list, create a new sensitive commodity list which will be provided to Turkish industry, and create a new Coordination Board composed of representatives of the Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Undersecretariat of Customs, Undersecretariat of National Intelligence, Undersecretariat of Foreign Trade, and the ANKARA 00000908 004 OF 004 Turkish Atomic Energy Authority (TAEK). This Board will meet every 15 days and in extraordinary sessions when requested by board representatives. The Board will be tasked to achieve uniformity in export control procedures employed by licensing authorities and serve as a platform for the discussion of export control policies for Turkey. It will also serve as an advisory body for licensing institutions and may make use of inspection capabilities of their ministries in order to ensure compliance with export control laws and provide industry oversight of specific export control and sensitive items issues. ¶3. Future Activities: None at this time. ¶4. Red Flag Issues: None. ¶5. Contact information for EXBS Program Ankara is: Robert Cieslinski, EXBS Advisor, Email: CieslinskiRL@state.gov, Office (90) (312) 457-7210, Cell (90) (533) 716-4808 and Erhan Mert, EXBS Coordinator, Email: MertE2@state.gov, Office(90)312 457-7059, Cell (90) (533) 264-8407. EXBS Program Office Fax (90) (312) 468-4775 Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey WILSON